Baskets of all sizes and shapes have been in existence for some time, because there has always been a need to transport or store items which were not readily transported or stored by hand. Examples of such object include rice, grain, clothing, and many others. The earliest forms of baskets, as well as some present day ones, were made by interweaving materials derived from plants.
A modern example is a metal, open frame wire basket, used at driving ranges for transporting a quantity of golf balls.
Such baskets for the transportation and storage of golf balls, referred to as "range baskets," frequently found at golf driving ranges, have been manufactured from metal rods welded or otherwise suitably fixed together, to form a metal basket construction having a carrying handle or bail. Baskets so formed have been made of an open frame construction, wherein the interconnected metal rod elements have been spaced from one another to form gaps or openings. The openings are sufficiently small in size to confine the golf balls within the basket. However, they are sufficiently large in size to permit the user to readily perceive the group of golf balls stored within the basket.
While such metal wire baskets have been satisfactory for some applications, they have been susceptible to being damaged by rust, since they are primarily used outdoors. In this regard, the baskets have been exposed to rain, snow, and other weather conditions. As the baskets are made of metal, the weather conditions tend to lead to the formation of rust. Eventually, excessive oxidation can destroy or otherwise render the basket unsuitable for its intended purpose. The integrity of the basket can deteriorate to the point where it becomes useless, and must then be replaced.
Another disadvantage of metal wire range baskets, is that should the welds be defective, the wire joints can be dislodged. As a result, the basket then looses the structural integrity, and breaks apart. Such a basket must then be replaced.
Additionally, the weight of the heavy metal baskets is a serious drawback. While a single basket is not especially heavy, when several empty metal baskets are combined in a nested fashion, the overall weight becomes increasingly burdensome. In this regard, the wire baskets are tapered so that the baskets fit one within the other.
Nesting of the baskets is desirable and important for golf ball driving ranges. In this regard, several baskets can be readily carried by hand by only one person, thereby reducing the amount of time to transport the empty baskets. Also, nesting the baskets permits a larger number of baskets to be stored in a smaller area.
Another problem in the nesting of metal baskets relates to the wire elements, which become bent out of shape during use. Such bent portions make it more difficult to nest the baskets, because the heavy wire elements of nested baskets engage one another, and the bent portions tend to lock the nested baskets together. Thus, the baskets could not be readily nested, and then later could not be easily separated.
An additional disadvantage of the conventional wire basket is that it includes a rotatable handle, which is capable of falling into the interior of the basket. When a handle falls into such a position, the nesting of the baskets was made to be impracticable, if not impossible.
If an open frame could somehow be entirely made from thermoplastic material, it would be lightweight and rust resistant. If such a plastic basket could be injection molded with a tapered body, such a basket could be successfully used as a driving range golf ball basket.
In order to make a plastic basket with a tapered body and having an open frame construction, a multiple part mold would be required. Such a mold having many parts, would be unduly complex, and excessively expensive to manufacture. Thus, the resulting parts would be excessively expensive.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to be able to injection mold such an open frame basket, by a less expensive mold arrangement, such as a two part mold. The resulting basket would have to have the desired tapered, open frame construction.
One approach could be to make the open frame basket with a stepped sidewall, so that the basket could be injection molded with only two mold parts. Such plastic basket would be a radical departure from the relatively smooth tapered sidewall of the metal wire baskets. Such a substantially different appearance would be totally unacceptable to the driving ranges.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a plastic open frame basket which can be constructed from a two part mold. Such a plastic basket should have a smoothly tapered body and be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Such a plastic open frame basket should not only be lightweight, but it must also be structurally strong to withstand heavy use, which is customary at commercial driving ranges. In addition to being strong, the basket must be durable and capable of withstanding repeated and sustained abuse.